Dec. 16, 2011: Hydraulic Fracturing Symposium, With the potential for extracting North Carolina’s natural gas reserves being discussed at the policy level in the General Assembly, the North Carolina League of Municipalities hosted a symposium to discuss hydraulic fracturing in downtown Raleigh’s Quorum Center. Speakers representing extremely diverse views on fracking, including Executive Director Vikram Rao, presented to a select group of municipal representatives, with a question and answer period following the presentations. Perspectives from environmental advocates, industry representatives and members of the academic community were presented in order to foster an open dialogue.

Duke University studyCompletion of a Duke study regarding the economics of carbon capture and storage by power plants in the U.S., striving to address the single most cited reason for recalcitrance on clean coal investment. A symposium was held in the third quarter to disseminate the results of the work and discuss the implications.

Kicked off the production of the definitive report on the Future of Biofuels. Currently there is considerable uncertainty regarding the economics and the net environmental and societal impact of biofuel alternatives. Interested parties include petroleum companies, coal producers, grain companies and the investment community, for all of whom the lack of clarity represents a barrier to a long term strategy in a field where the expected capital investments are high and first fuel production is several years removed from the decision to invest.

Supported of the major NC State led NSF-sponsored program on Smart Grids. A May 27, 2009 symposium, titled Electrifying Transportation which had a heavy emphasis on Plug-in Hybrid Vehicles (PHEV’s), other electric vehicles, and the grid systems required to optimize their utilization. Significant load-leveling and reduction of oil importation are potential outcomes. Included were the techno-economic and societal barriers for EV’s, including longer range and cheaper batteries and capacitive systems, innovative business models to encourage consumer acceptance, and the economic sourcing of the essential element lithium.

Sponsored the UNC led symposium on Advanced Photovoltaics and Solar Fuels on January 15, 16, 2009. UNC is a leader in the relatively new field of solar fuels, which offers the promise of using photons to create liquid fuels.